Denmark’s Faroe Islands Continue Dolphin Slaughter

The Cove won a well-deserved Oscar (and several other awards) this year for uncovering the slaughter of dolphins in Japan. While it was being made, another discovery put the Japanese people on notice: the flesh of the dolphins is toxic, highly poisonous due to mercury content from them ingesting mercury-tainted fish. Similar levels of mercury poisoning have caused horrible birth defects in the past, right there in Japan. The Cove demonstrates how doing the right thing by other animals on the planet is the right thing for humans as well.

Apparently that message was lost on the people of the Faroe Islands, a holding of Denmark. Their dolphin and whale slaughter continues. The consumption of the flesh also continues. What will it take for an otherwise civilized Western European nation to grow up?

Slaughter. That’s a strong word… but not strong enough. How else could one describe these images?

This is a rite of passage?

And a spectator sport

This is the Calderon dolphin's repayment for trusting men and coming near them to interact with fellow sentient beings.

The butchery is neither painless nor silent. Dolphins scream out, sounding very much like a human child, as they are sliced and hacked apart while still alive and conscious.

This is not the action of civilized men. This is barbaric and hostile violence towards a peaceful sentient, sapient, and sovereign species.

While the Faroese claim Tradition, does this LOOK like any sort of tradition? Hundreds of powerboats herding the peaceful cetaceans towards their death?

Thousands of people have signed petitions. The government of Denmark / Faroe Islands ignores them; petitions go unheeded. It is time that we, citizens of this planet, called upon our own governments to tell Denmark / Faroe Islands that the whales and dolphins they slaughter are not theirs to kill. It is time that we fought back for the sake of those who cannot speak at our courts. We must demand that our government put Denmark and the Faroe Islands on notice: We will NOT passively permit you to continue this vulgar practice! We will place sanctions against you until it stops. We will not buy or sell with you. You are shunned, unwelcome, until you stop slaughtering these fellow residents of the earth.

This is our planet, the earth is our mother, and all of the creatures who share it with us are our fellows, brother and sister inhabitants. It is not ours to do with as we please. We’re only here borrowing it for a while. The Calderon dolphins may very well be led to extinction by this killing, and extinct is forever. They are just one of the species of cetaceans killed by these people. NO intelligent creature should be treated this way. Despite claims to the contrary, the Faroese do NOT need to do this to survive. Please, do all you can to make it stop.

P.S. Apologies to any Danes who feel they are being unjustly singled out, but the fact remains that the Faroe Islands are a territory of Denmark. If Denmark wants to sever all ties to that territory, we will be glad to change the title of the article. Until then, the title remains accurate.

PPS: It has been nearly 2 years since this article was written. We have invited the Faroese into a discussion, and they participated. When it got circular and there was nothing more to be gained, I ended the discussion. There have been many comments submitted EVERY DAY about these ongoing horrors. Many of them are emotional, reactionary, and have at least some of the facts wrong. But the facts that they’re mistaken about are not foundational; their position isn’t any less right, for example, that they thought Pilot “whales” are endangered, or if they’re called Calderon or something else. For the past year or so, I’ve censored out many posts that called for violence to the Faroese. I have just release them all, editing out only the most offensive of them, allowing people’s own words to “speak” for them, for better or worse.

Thanks to all of you for your passion and involvement. Though the Faroese have turned down offers to supplement their income in lieu of continuing the Grind, it remains our most fervent hope that they will do so of their own will.

Children of the Faroe Islands, showing no respect for the slaughtered pilot whales.

Comments are now closed for this post. I’m taking the liberty of having this last word:

If the Faroe Islands are so horribly barren as you Faroese apologize/defend, that you (Faroese) cannot grow food in hothouses, cannot raise eggs, etc., and the (over)fishing that you’re already doing still cannot support your people, then it is far better to leave that place (or redouble your efforts to grow vegetables in hothouse environments) than to continue killing these sentient, sapient, sovereign beings, just to survive. It’s not 200 years ago anymore. Relocating would be easy enough to do… if it were actually a matter of survival.

There is no good excuse for this… and the powerboats that drive hundreds and thousands to their deaths are NOT part of any tradition, even if tradition were to be given some special importance. (Slavery was a tradition, too.) It is time for the Faroese to end these horrible atrocities, the deaths they bring, and the poor health and shame they heap upon themselves by refusing to do so.

Comments

I hope one day someone shows these savages the same resepect that they have shown these gentle creatures of the sea. Maybe they will have their heads and bodies sliced by their own weapon of destruction.

Oh my god…. Do they even knew the pain of having a hook gorged into their skin. Or what it feels like to be cut with a knife while awake? This is horrific… They are taking lives of innocent beings. Shame on them. God’s waters aren’t supposed to run red.

Ugghh..how revolting.
The water reminds me of D-day. Murder is the right word. Why kill them? They aren’t necessary for the survival of the people on the Faroe Islands. Pointless butchery.
I hope they will die the same way…gored by the same tools they used to kill the dolphins. Maybe terrorists should target them instead of innocent people.

WE NEED TO STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN. THESE DOLPHINS DID NOT DESERVE THIS PUNISHMENT AND THEY CERTAINLY DID NOT ASK TO BE SLAUGHTERED LIKE THIS. THESE WERE FRIENDLY DOLHINS THAT WERE JUST SHOWING AFFECTION AND WHAT DID THESE CRAZY FUCKING INSANE PEOPLE DO? THEY CUT THEM UP AND CHOPPED THEM TO PIECES. THIS IS BEYOUND HUMANE NATURE AND ISN’T RIGHT. IF THERE ANY JUSTICE FOR THESE DOLHINS WHERE IS IT NOW? WE NEED TO GET THE WORD OUT THEY DID THIS TO THEM JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT

I am a Filipino, and I love watching Discovery Channel as animals are being captured for a few minutes to be studied then set out to where it belongs, alive and free. I used to think that long-nosed people are the wiser ones when it comes to taking care of the nature, especially that PETA and all the other pro-animal organizations are active and very vocal on their pleas. However, upon seeing these photos, I cried. I could not think of a single country, not even the strongest one when it comes to its economic state, can ever do such inhumane and barbaric act. I strongly agree with JT’s comments. These species are not cute and these are certainly intelligent mammals as well. How would you feel if you were the ones being strangled with hooks? I mean, what would you do if you were born a dolphin? And how would you react if one day, your families will also be butchered, slaughtered by barbarians, who taught all of you were cute? After all, karma is here.. WHAT COMES AROUND, GOES AROUND. I raise this question to all those who see this slaughter as a game, an event, an occasion that shows strength, which in truth, is actually an occasion that shows shame and ignorance. Finally, how would you ever react if you see your families’ own blood flow for an occasion as well….?

hey JT if you give your “thoughts” after the comment they will seem more legitimate and not like you are a sentimental imperialist who cares more about the welfare of animals than that of humans. what you’re exhibiting in your comments here is called “empathy failure.” it’s a condition where the normal level of human empathy that one human has for another fails to kick in and a human instead identifies with other beings with whom he or she can not have actual discourse. it’s a sign of BPD. also you misused the word “sentient” a number of times. peace be with you.

Drew, when you do what I/we have done here, feel free to run it any way you want to. As to the rest of your OPINION… I’ll leave it at that I know me, you don’t, and your armchair psychiatry is laughable at best. Sentient misused? You’d only think so because you’re amongst the tragic ones who actually thinks that Homo Sapiens are the highest, most evolved species on the planet. Let me explain a few basic concepts:

Sentient: Self-aware
Sapient: Knowing Right from Wrong; a wise one
Sovereign: Not chattel, but a free living being, subject to no one.

and JT you forgot to list “Moron” of which the category people like Drew fall under.

I may be one of those human who feels more sympathy towards animal beings than I do towards our own (which according to you means I have BPD, is that another one of those mental disorders we humans came up with?)…but that’s only because my own species lack in love, innocence and respect for each other, our planet and our fellow beings. Just take a look around you.

Now people like JT are the ones who have their heads on straight, because with people like him around we may actually have a future to look forward to.

the people watching bein involved or thin that this is okay are disgusting pethadic excuses for human how bout use pick on some one that can fight back not a help less animals use r all fukin losers *EDITED OUT* use make me sick to my stomach letting ur kids watch this and think its ok if any of use where to step foot in adelaide and we new what use dead we would personally do what u did to them creatures we would do it to u take a look at ur selfes they do nuffin wrong use r killers this is not fun or funny and this should never be done i hope use all rott in hell use are as bad as rapist and pedos use r all murders i hope u get whats coming to u . use heart less loser go screw ur cousing u disgusting pigs thats what every single one of u worthless ***** are

The people of Denmark disgust me! Whether or not you take part in this, it is unbelievable that humans can do things like this. I hope that karma will return the favor upon these KILLERS and that it won’t be anything less then a slaughter of them.

They’re not slaughtering them for some ritual of passage.
They’re killing them as humanely as they can for food.

The Faroe Islands doesn’t have much fertile earth, nor much wildlife. You’re complaining about this, but I don’t hear any of you complaining about hunting deer or elk, or about cows that are pretty much just raised to be slaughtered in massive slaughter farms.

Which is worse, hmm?

On the Faroe Islands, they even distribute the meat to everyone who wants it, and donate the rest to hospitals for example. The whale meat contributes to about 1/4th of their meat intake.

The whales are murdered as swiftly as possible. They certainly aren’t being strangled by hooks, or whatever else lubricious accusations you’re all just throwing around for dramatic effects.

Please do your research.

Sigh and quote bogus BS all you want. The FACT is that they ARE slaughtering them. And the FACT is that an argument that others do the same or worse is a fallacy, does NOTHING to mitigate the subject addressed here. And the FACT is that their flesh is toxic as well. The FACT is that they are “murdered” as you admit, viciously, with barbaric weapons. They will live on beyond their bodies’ ability to move, trapped in their own minds, taking in the horrors. Babies, pregnant females, entire families. NO ONE hunts land creatures this way.

We’ve done our research… and you don’t like that your atrocities are coming to the light. We don’t need to fabricate. The truth is plenty bad enough. Why don’t you stop trying to defend it and move to a better place if the land is so horribly barren? — JT

Maybe sharks would have been a better idea. Fair fight at least. Dolphins are natures one critter that willing comes up to us out of curiosity not malice and here the danes are taking advantage. Sick, just sick. Sharks baby! Bring it on